CVE-2025-66142 identifies a missing authorization vulnerability in the merkulove Comparimager for Elementor plugin, a WordPress add-on used to create image comparison sliders. The flaw arises from improperly configured access control mechanisms that fail to adequately restrict certain actions to authorized users only. Specifically, users with limited privileges (PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability remotely (AV:N) without requiring any user interaction (UI:N). The vulnerability impacts the integrity and availability of the affected system, as unauthorized users may modify plugin settings or content, or disrupt normal functionality. The plugin versions up to and including 1.0.1 are affected, though the exact earliest vulnerable version is unspecified. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.4, reflecting medium severity with low attack complexity (AC:L) and no confidentiality impact (C:N). No known exploits have been reported in the wild, but the vulnerability poses a risk especially in environments where the plugin is widely used and user privilege separation is not strictly enforced. The issue was reserved in late 2025 and published in early 2026, indicating recent discovery and disclosure. The lack of available patches at the time of reporting suggests that mitigation relies on configuration review and access restrictions until updates are released.

For European organizations, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized modifications of website content or plugin configurations, potentially causing website defacement, disruption of services, or manipulation of displayed information. Since the plugin is part of the Elementor ecosystem, which is popular among European businesses for website building, exploitation could affect a significant number of sites, especially those with multiple users having limited privileges. The integrity impact could damage brand reputation and user trust, while availability impact could disrupt business operations relying on the affected websites. Although confidentiality is not directly impacted, the indirect effects on business continuity and customer perception can be substantial. Organizations with less mature access control policies or those that grant excessive privileges to users are at higher risk. The absence of known active exploits provides a window for proactive mitigation, but the medium severity score indicates that ignoring the issue could lead to moderate operational risks.

1. Monitor the vendor’s official channels for patches addressing CVE-2025-66142 and apply updates promptly once available. 2. In the interim, audit user roles and permissions within WordPress to ensure that only trusted users have access to plugin configuration and management features. 3. Restrict plugin usage to administrators or highly trusted roles to minimize the attack surface. 4. Implement web application firewalls (WAF) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the plugin endpoints. 5. Conduct regular security reviews of all installed plugins, focusing on access control and privilege separation. 6. Employ security plugins that can monitor and alert on unauthorized changes to plugin files or settings. 7. Educate site administrators and content managers about the risks of privilege escalation and the importance of strict access controls. 8. Consider isolating critical web assets and limiting network exposure of management interfaces to trusted IP ranges. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control tightening and proactive monitoring specific to the plugin’s context.